


Just Another Stray

by aw_writing_no



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Clint is Kate's legal guardian, Deaf Clint Barton, Disabled Bucky Barnes, Don't question it we suspend disbelief in this house, F/F, M/M, Service Dogs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:06:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29953155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aw_writing_no/pseuds/aw_writing_no
Summary: Clint Barton has a penchant for adopting strays, from the 17-year old archer who somehow became his legal ward to the one-eyed dog that refuses to get off his couch. He’ll be the first one to admit that sometimes the things he collects aren’t strictly up for grabs.Which is why he feels like a total human crap-sack when a microchip scan of his newly acquired canine reveals it’s a service dog.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton, Kate Bishop/America Chavez
Comments: 7
Kudos: 79





	Just Another Stray

“Clint you need to come home right now and help me pick out an outfit for my date tonight.” 

“Girly-girl you know I’m on my way to Stark Tech to get a replacement aid. I can’t hear shit in my right ear, I just got in my Uber, and I’m already 15 minutes late. I’m sure whatever you pick will be perfect --”

“This is serious, Clint,” Kate practically whines, and Clint can’t help but grin at her teenage angst. “This girl is so gorgeous, you have no idea, but she’s always wearing cut offs and sneakers and I have  _ no _ idea how to dress for this.”

Clint switches the phone to his right side and makes what he hopes are sympathetic noises. He’s sure Kate will be fine once she’s done ranting about hot girls and outfits. Right now he has to decide what he’s going to tell Stark happened to his hearing aid, because somehow he doesn’t think “I dropped it in my coffee for the fourth time” is an acceptable excuse. He’ll just let Kate ramble on for a few minutes while he thinks of a cover story. 

His phone vibrates against his right ear, and he pulls it away to glance at the text on the screen.

**Kate:** _I know you put the phone on your right, you deaf asshole._

**Clint:** _Mocking the disabled is not a classy move, Katie-Kate._

**Kate:** _Neither is neglecting your ward in her time of need!_

Clint snorts and rolls his eyes. Kate only pulls the legal guardian card when she’s truly desperate; most of the time she prefers to refer to him as her older brother. He gives up on finding an excuse to tell Stark and texts her back. 

**Clint:** _ Wear your black dress, open purple flannel over top, with those boots I got you for Christmas. Simple makeup, hair down. You’re gonna crush this date, don’t get too hung up on what kind of style you think she prefers. Obviously your usual princess look hasn’t deterred her yet. _

**Kate:** _ Princess? I hate you. _

**Kate:** _Thanks, Clint. You’re the best father figure/gay best friend a girl can ask for._

**Clint:** _ I do what I can. I take it you won’t be home for dinner? _

**Kate:** _ No, but if you make enough for two I’ll have some for lunch tomorrow. _

**Clint:** _ As you wish, Princess. _

**Kate:** _ Go get your new ears so you can hear me tell you to fuck off in person.  _

* * *

After several hours and a few long-winded rants from Tony, Clint manages to escape his appointment with a pair of bright purple hearing aids that Stark insists are totally Clint-proof. His Uber drops him back in Bed Stuy, but rather than walking home he heads to the grocery store. He needs ingredients for dinner, since one of Coulson’s conditions for letting him assume legal guardianship of Kate was that he feed her something besides pizza and coffee and Poptarts. He’s considering the benefits of creating a Pinterest account to organize his recipes when a black shape streaks past his legs and barrels into the alley on his left. He turns in time to see the dog disappear behind some trash cans. 

He can already hear Natasha’s voice in his head telling him to keep walking, that the last thing he needs is more responsibility when he should be attempting to take care of himself. Her advice is mostly drowned out by his own internal monologue screaming DOG.

Clint pats his jacket, feeling for any spare dog treats that may be leftover from when he last walked Lucky. As he’s rummaging through the pockets of his jeans he hears a voice carry from around the corner. He doesn’t even have a moment to marvel at the range of his new aids before a man walks into view, gesticulating angrily with one hand while the other holds a cell phone to his ear. 

“..No idea how the fucker got out of his collar. Finally decided to take him outside so he’d stop shitting in the bathroom. I’ve been chasing him for ten minutes now, I swear I’m going to skin him alive when I find him.”

Clint tenses, his fingers curling into a fist. His protective streak combined with his utter lack of self preservation get him into more fights than he will ever admit to Kate or Natasha, although they see the bruises and chastise him anyways. He unclenches his hand and wills the man to just keep walking.

Clint’s eyes wander over the guy’s strong jaw covered in stubble and his styled black hair, and he thinks that he would be attractive if he weren't a complete douche. The man lowers his phone and jerks his chin at Clint.

“Hey, buddy. Have you seen a dog come this way? Black lab?”

Clint shakes his head and points to his hearing aids, saying “I can’t hear you” at an inappropriately loud volume. 

The guy scowls and shoulders past him, murmuring “Useless idiot” as he walks away. Clint waits until he disappears from sight before heading into the alley. 

“Hey big man, you wanna come out now?” Clint drops into a squat by the mouth of the alley, not wanting to corner the dog and cause him to panic. He holds out the somewhat linty treat he dug out from his pocket. “Come here, boy, I promise that asshat is gone. C’mon!”

A black nose appears, snuffling loudly. Clint grins and scoots further into the alley, holding the treat before him. The dog emerges from behind the trash can, eyeing Clint as he steps around the some cartons of Chinese takeout. Clint holds perfectly still as the dog approaches him and takes the treat gingerly from his hand. 

Clint holds his fingers out for the dog to smell, the smile never leaving his face as the dog delicately sniffs twice and then licks his hand. He reaches up to scratch along the bottom of the dog’s jaw. The dog tilts his head back and begins to wag his tail. 

Clint rises to his feet, minimizing his movement to avoid startling the dog. The dog just sits down and stares up at him, tongue lolling to the side. 

“Let’s see if there’s anything around here I can use as a leash,” Clint says. He opens the lids to the trash cans one by one, scanning the contents before strolling down the alley to find something suitable. When nothing jumps out at him, he sighs and turns to the dog. “I don’t suppose I can just convince you to come with me, huh?”

The dog trots over to Clint and sits down next to him, staring up at him expectantly. Clint’s eyes widen and he takes five steps forward. The dog keeps pace and sits again when Clint stops. 

“Who’s the smartest boy?” Clint says, leaning over to rub behind the dog’s ears. The dog’s tail begins to thump furiously against the pavement. 

“Alright, come with me. Let’s go home!” Clint heads out of the alley and down the street. The dog pads along beside him, never straying more than a foot from his side. 

Grocery shopping can definitely wait. He has to go introduce Lucky to his new friend.

* * *

By the time Kate gets home, Clint is firmly settled on the couch, his slippered feet constantly moving to thwart Lucky’s attempts to reach the pizza box on the coffee table. 

“How was your movie?”

“Awesome! I’m really into the new female leads in Star Wars -- it makes the pissbaby men on the internet cry and gives me some new ladies to crush on.” When Kate is excited, her words tend to all spill out at once; Clint actually pauses Dog Cops so that his hearing aids can pick up what she’s saying rather than Sergeant Whisker’s interrogation. “Also, did you know there is a bow version of a Jedi lightsaber? You should totally pitch the idea to Stark --” Kate stops talking so abruptly that Clint flicks his hearing aids to make sure they didn’t cut out. Cursing when the tap echoes loudly in his ear, he turns to face her. 

Kate stands near the door, her arms folded across her chest. “What the hell is that?” Clint follows her gaze to the black dog stretched on the couch next to him. 

“That’s a dog.”

“What the shit, Clint, you promised we could get a cat next!” Kate throws her hands up in exasperation and makes her way over to the couch. 

“It’s not like I went to the pound, Katie-Kate,” Clint says, watching Kate grab a cold slice of pizza and give Lucky a piece of pepperoni. “I found him in an alley, hiding from some asshole who threatened to  _ skin him alive _ .”

“He did not,” Kate says around a mouthful of cheese. “You’re making that up.”

“I’m telling the truth. Cross my heart.” 

“Well shit,” Kate mumbles. “People suck.”

“People suck. Dogs, however, are awesome. Watch this. Bill, go say hi!” The black dog immediately hops off the couch to go see Kate, tail wagging so hard it repeatedly hit Lucky in the face. Kate sits up a little straighter.

“That’s amazing! What else can he do?” 

“He seems to have all the basics down -- we went through sit, down, stay, paw. I discovered this one by accident, but look how freaking cool. Bill, fetch the remote!” The dog grabs the remote off the coffee table and brings it to Clint. He looks at Kate with a wide grin. “Pretty sweet, right?”

“Two things,” Kate says. “One, how do you know his name is Bill?”

Clint shrugs. “I don’t, I just call him that because he’s so smart.”

“What?”

“Bill... Bill Nye?” Clint stares at Kate with growing horror as her expression remains blank. “Bill Nye the Science Guy?” 

“I have no idea who that is.”

“Bill, Bill, Bill, Bill!” Clint begins to quietly chant. Kate continues to look unamused, so Clint sighs and asks, “What’s the second thing?”

“This dog is clearly well loved and well trained. I think you stole someone’s pet.”

“Yeah, but the guy threatened to  _ skin the dog alive _ .”

“Maybe it wasn’t his dog. Or maybe he was just really frustrated that the dog got out of his collar. We’re taking him to the vet tomorrow.”

“Good idea, let’s make sure he’s healthy.”

“No,” Kate says firmly. “We’re going to scan him and see if he has a microchip.”

“Ugh, fine. But when the scan comes back negative and proves that douchebag just kept this dog in the bathroom for all eternity, we’re keeping him.”

“Fine,” Kate says, giving Lucky her pizza crust. “I really wish you had brought home a cat. Do you think Natasha will notice if I kidnap Liho for a while?”

Clint shudders. “It would probably be safer to try and hijack one of the snow leopards from the zoo.” 

Kate grins. “Now I know what to suggest to America for our second date.” 

* * *

The scan the next day reveals a microchip under the skin of Bill’s neck. Clint tries to ignore Kate’s “I told you so” glare and rubs the dog’s ears sadly. 

The vet tech enters the microchip number in the computer. “Looks like this handsome man is named Ranger!” She says, smiling as the dog reacts to his name. “The vet clinic on file is in Washington DC... no personal information. I’ll just give them a quick call, okay?”

Kate and Clint step away to allow the tech to make the call. “He looks way more like a Ranger than a Bill,” Kate says, crouching to scratch beneath the dog’s chin. Ranger butts his head against her chest, nearly knocking her over. 

“I’m just giving you a heads up -- if the owner ends up being Stubble Face McDouche, it’s going to take a  _ lot _ of convincing for me to give him back.”

Kate shrugs. “Fine, but I get to interrogate him too.”

“Obviously you get the first run at the guy. You’re totally terrifying,” Clint replies. He tells Ranger to lay down, then proceeds to give him vigorous belly rubs.

“I’ve got the owner’s name and number here,” the tech says, startling Ranger to his feet. “Owner only moved to Brooklyn a few months ago so it’s possible that Ranger just wasn’t familiar enough with the area to make it home.” She hands Clint the information. 

Kate reads the name over his shoulder. “He doesn’t  _ sound _ like a douche.”

“They never do,” Clint sighs.

“Douche or not, I bet he’s really missing this guy right now,” the tech says, jerking her chin at Ranger. “The other vet told me Ranger is a service dog.” 

“Wow, Clint,” Kate says. “Sounds like  _ you’re _ the douche.”

“Aw, service dog. No.”

* * *

“Hello?”

“James Barnes?”

“Who’s asking?” 

Even filtered through the static of Clint’s cell phone, the accent is pure Brooklyn. Clint feels the muscles in his shoulders relax; whoever he’s talking to definitely doesn’t sound like the same asshole who threatened to skin Ranger alive. 

“My name’s Clint Barton. I think I have your dog.”


End file.
